April 2017 Single GME Accreditation System Update

Key Updates

New Agreement Addresses Residents’ Needs in the Transition to the Single GME Accreditation System

AACOM, the AOA and the ACGME and are committed to protecting residents during the transition to the single graduate medical education (GME) accreditation system. The terms of the single accreditation system require that the AOA no longer accredit GME programs after June 30, 2020. The three organizations recognize there may be unique circumstances whereby some programs make a good faith effort to achieve ACGME accreditation but still haven’t transitioned successfully to ACGME accreditation by that date. An agreement reached by the three organizations seeks to protect residents in such programs or situations so they can complete AOA-accredited training and advance to AOA board eligibility. The agreement will give the AOA restricted authority to extend the AOA accreditation date to allow any remaining resident in such programs to complete training in an accredited program. Please direct questions related to this agreement to singlegme@osteopathic.org. See the AACOM statement on this agreement.

AACOM Statement on ACGME Common Program Requirements

The new ACGME Common Program Requirements Section VI were released during the ACGME Annual Education Conference on March 10, 2017. The revised requirements go into effect July 1, 2017. AACOM submitted comments on the proposed revisions during the open comment period and supported many of the changes. AACOM released a statement recently in support of the final revisions. View the AACOM Statement

Status of Applications

This month, the transition to the single accreditation system continues into the 22nd month, marking two years since the window for institutional applications opened, on April 1, 2015, and approximately a third of the way into the transition process, which ends June 30, 2020.

Sixty-nine institutions have achieved accreditation since April 2015. The number of newly accredited sponsoring institutions under the single accreditation system, partly explains the rising trend in the total number of accredited sponsoring institutions at the ACGME, as indicated in the ACGME Resource Data Book 2015-2016.

Twenty institutions are in continued pre-accreditation and six are in pre-accreditation status and have yet to be reviewed. This year, the Institutional Review Committee will meet again on April 19-21, 2017 and October 9-11, 2017.

Osteopathic Recognition

The Osteopathic Principles Committee (OPC) met March 31 to April 1, 2017, and reviewed applications for osteopathic recognition, approving 10 programs for initial osteopathic recognition. See the mix of specialties seeking or having received osteopathic recognition in Table 1.

Table 1.

Specialty

Number of osteopathic recognition applications

Allergy and immunology

1

Anesthesiology

1

Dermatology

1

Emergency medicine

1

Family medicine

57

Geriatric medicine

1

Hospice and palliative medicine (multidisciplinary)

1

Internal medicine

17

Internal medicine/Pediatrics

1

Obstetrics and gynecology

1

Pediatrics

1

Sports medicine

1

Transitional year

2

Total Applications*

86

*Does not include programs that applied and did not receive initial recognition

AOA Application Deadlines

The AOA Basic Standards for Postdoctoral Training Standard X outlines deadlines for programs to apply in order to participate in the 2018 AOA National Matching Service. These programs in both core residencies and fellowships as outlined in Standard Xmust apply to the ACGME by January 1, 2018, or earlier, to participate in the 2018 NMS Match. The three-year core specialties with upcoming deadlines include: dermatology, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, NMM/OMM (including preliminary year) and proctological surgery.

Status of Applications to the ACGME

Table 2. provides a brief snapshot of the status of ACGME applications as of April 5, 2017.

Table 2. Status of SAS Applications as of April 5, 2017

Institutional Sponsors

Program

Osteopathic Recognition

Total Applications

96

428

86*

Total Initial Accreditation/Recognition

69

131

79

Total Initial Accreditation Contingent

-

13

-

* Does not include programs that applied and did not receive initial recognition.

Education & Outreach

Joint AACOM & AODME 2017 Annual Conference: SAS Focus

The Joint AACOM & AODME 2017 Annual Conference will be held at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore, MD, April 26-29. Under the theme Educating Leaders: Integrated Health Systems A Paradigm for the Future, the conference boasts a robust mix of programming on faculty development, undergraduate and graduate medical education, and the transition to the single accreditation system. Sessions and conference offerings related to the single GME accreditation system include:

Sessions and conference offerings related to the single GME accreditation system include:

Transition from UME to GME: Residency Match Updates from the NRMP and NMSWednesday, April 26, 2:30pm-3:30pm

Exhibitors: Visit the exhibit hall to learn more and interact with staff from:

AACOM Research and discuss how to use AACOM data for scholarly activity

AOA Single Accreditation System Application Assistance Program

ACGME Journal of Graduate Medical Education

Spotlight: Single Accreditation System Update in the JAOA Article

The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (JAOA) in the JAOA/AACOM Medical Education April 2017 issue, features an article on the single accreditation system which provides a comprehensive overview and the status of the transition. Among key data shared in this article, the authors note that as of February 27, 2017, 50 percent of all AOA-accredited programs have either already achieved ACGME accreditation or have applied to the ACGME. Learn more: JAOA Article Single Accreditation System Update: Gaining Momentum.

Follow #singleGME on twitter for up-to-the-minute news on the transition.